Chico crime sees preliminary decline during COVID-19 pandemic

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A graph shows the number of inbound calls to the Chico Police Department’s dispatch center from the end of December 2019 through Sunday. The rate begins to fall as the COVID-19 situation unfolds. (Chico Police Department — Contributed)

CHICO — As the COVID-19 scare unfolds and most residents are asked to remain home by the various governments, Chico is seeing a slow decline in reported crime.

Though early in the stay-home order from the state level, the Chico Police Department has noticed some slower crime rates as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the day-to-day lives of most residents.

“Generally speaking, crime has not spiked,” said Police Chief Michael O’Brien. “We are showing a very preliminary decrease.”

A graph comparing the number of incidents called in to the Chico Police Department’s dispatch center in 2019 and 2020. Week one begins on Jan. 1 for both years. (Chico Police Department — Contributed)

The decrease is small, O’Brien said, but it’s not unlike the decrease seen after the Camp Fire in 2018, although the specifics are different.

“We saw a slight decrease after the Camp Fire, even with the addition of 20,000 or so residents,” O’Brien said. “People are limiting interaction and roads are less congested. Calls for service have also decreased, which all assist our officers in how we protect our community.”

The decrease is not limited to any particular type of crime either. O’Brien said both property and drug-related crime have seen a slight decrease though no data was available on specific crime types.

In comparison to 2019, calls from the 11th week of the year dropped from 2,511 to 2,284 and from 2,252 to 1,829 in the 12th week. This is around the time changes made in response to the virus began to ramp up and orders to stay home and work remotely rapidly began pouring in from all government levels.

The department has made internal changes in response to the state orders. The Police Department’s Public Information Officer Michelle Walker said part of the staff is working remotely, such as those working in finance, administration and training coordination. O’Brien said this included the crime analyst who pulled the numbers.

O’Brien said the virus invading his department is something that’s been on his mind as well as his staff’s.

“That is our biggest concern, both for our patrol and dispatch staff,” O’Brien said. “Patrol and dispatch are of course our front-line resources to protect our community. As such, we have instituted an emergency staffing plan that allows for immediate replacement of anyone who becomes ill and unable to work, either in patrol or dispatch.”

O’Brien said he hopes this plan will allow for service to be uninterrupted should a quick transition be necessary.

Emergency staffing will be kept for 30 days before being evaluated and redetermined.

While a steady decline is showing, whether the numbers are directly related to the COVID-19 situation can’t yet be certain yet. Additionally, some of the reports came during a time when staffing was being changed due to the virus risks and therefore may not be final yet.